Minnesota Mean
Synopsis:
A year in the lives of six members of the Minnesota Roller Derby, as they compete to win the Hydra, the top international prize of the sport. When the star of the team gets injured, will her teammates find their own power?
MINNESOTA MEAN is a human drama about the pounding heart of roller derby: powerful, self-sufficient women. It’s a vital and relevant story of triumph, loss, strength, determination, and a search for balance between individuality and community. How do women who pride themselves on their hard-won independence thrive in a sport that requires them to rely on a team? How do they meet the full-time demands of the sport without sacrificing their own dreams for life outside the rink? A meditation on strength: in our bodies, our hearts, our minds, and our friendships.
This screening will be preceded by a live musical performance by the local Ely band "Chicka-dee-dee-dee" in the Festival Lounge from 4-5PM.
Director Bios:
Dawn Mikkelson (Director/Producer/Editor) - Dawn Mikkelson (Director/Producer/Editor) - Emmy Award winning producer and McKnight Filmmaking Fellow, whose work has broadcast, streamed and screened internationally. Festival screenings of her feature documentaries include: the Galway Film Fleadh, Cinequest, Mill Valley Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, DOC NYC, Frameline Film Festival, and American Indian Film Festival. Broadcast and streaming include: APT (American Public Television), PBS, CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation), Yes-Docu (Israel), Duetsche Welle (Germany), iTunes, and Amazon Prime. In addition to MINNESOTA MEAN, Mikkelson has completed six award-winning independent feature documentaries, RISKING LIGHT, THE RED TAIL, GREEN GREEN WATER, THIS OBEDIENCE, and TREADING WATER: A DOCUMENTARY, character-driven films highlighting power and joy in the margins, her sixth of which FINDING HER BEAT, within the world of the ancient performance art of taiko drumming, premiered Fall 2022.